Daniel 5:2

whiles the genitive sing. of the subst. while(as in -for a while"), used adverbially (cf. -needs," -upwards"). It occurs in A.V. Daniel 9:20-21; Ezekiel 21:29 (twice), Ezekiel 44:17; Hosea 7:6; Matthew 5:25; Act 5:4; 2 Corinthians 9:13; and several times in Shakespeare, as Much Ado, iv. 1, 221, -What we have we prize not to the worth, Whileswe enjoy it, Meas. for Meas. iv. 3, 84; Jul. Caes. i. 2. 209.

whileshe tasted the wine in the taste i.e. enjoyment of the wine, when he began to feel the influence of the wine.

commanded, &c. an act, under the circumstances, of wanton and defiant impiety.

the golden and silver vessels, &c. see Daniel 1:2.

his father Belshazzar is not known to have been related to Nebuchadnezzar: his father was Nabu-na'id, a usurper, the son of one Nabo-balâṭsu-iḳbi, and expressly said (see Introd. pp. xxvii, li) to have been unconnected with Nebuchadnezzar's family.

-Father" may, however, by Hebrew usage, be understood to mean grandfather (Genesis 28:13; Genesis 32:10; cf. 1 Kings 15:13 for great-grandfather); and there remains the possibilitythat Nabu-na'id may have sought to strengthen his position by marrying a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, in which case, of course, Nebuchadnezzar would be -Belshazzar's grandfather on his mother's side (see however, p. li, [254].).

[254] The supposition, sometimes made, that he was -co-regent" with his father is also destitute of foundation in the inscriptions.

princes lords, as Daniel 5:1. So Daniel 5:3.

his wives his consorts: so Daniel 5:3; Daniel 5:23. The word is a rare one, being found otherwise in the O.T. only in Nehemiah 2:6 (of the queen of Artaxerxes), and Psalms 45:9 [255].

[255] It is read by some scholars conjecturally in Judges 5:30 (-for the neck of the consort," שׁגל for שׁלל). The coguate verb means to ravish(Isaiah 13:16 al.)

concubines so Daniel 5:3; Daniel 5:23. Not the usual Hebrew word, but one found also in the Aramaic of the Targums. Cf. Song of Solomon 6:8, where -queens" and -concubines" are mentioned side by side.

The presence of women at feasts was not usual in antiquity (cf., of Persia, Esther 1:10-12); but there is some evidence, though slight, that it was allowed in Babylon (Xen. Cyrop.v. ii. 28; and, in the age of Alexander, Curtius v. i. 38). The LXX. translator, feeling probably some difficulty in the statement, omits the clause relating to the -wives and concubines" both here and Daniel 5:3; Daniel 5:23.